Share this

My one piece of advice is stick to your principles and vote your conscience on every piece of legislation. Don’t give in to the seductive political temptations that surround you in Washington, including those that come from your leaders, if you think that what they are doing is wrong. And ignore the criticisms of the mainstream media and the uninformed and biased editorial pages of media outlets like The New York Times. In fact, if the Times approves of what you’re doing, it’s a good sign that you’re doing the wrong thing and betraying the best interests of your constituents.

Your No. 1 priority must be preserving the Constitution and the ordered structure of individual liberty and economic opportunity it protects, which has made us unique in the world and in history. That shining city on a hill is in danger because members of Congress have for decades consistently ignored their obligation to uphold and defend our governing document, particularly its limitations on the power of government.

Their profligacy and recklessness with the hard-earned money of American taxpayers threaten to make our government insolvent and endanger our economic well-being. They have exponentially expanded the size and prerogatives of government until it threatens our liberty, our freedom, and our ability to prosper.

That’s why it’s crucial to put our financial house in order by stopping the growth of government, radically reducing its budget, its size and its burdensome regulatory interference in our economy. Eliminate the wasteful burdens that government imposes on Americans, and we will see an explosion in economic growth, prosperity and opportunity that will make this another American Century.

More POLITICO Arena

About the Arena

The Arena is a cross-party, cross-discipline forum for intelligent and lively conversation about political and policy issues. Contributors have been selected by POLITICO staff and editors. David Mark, Arena's moderator, is a Senior Editor at POLITICO. Each morning, POLITICO sends a question based on that day's news to all contributors.